Decorated surface and method of producing same



Nov. 10, 1925.

G. L. GUENOT ET AL DE CORATED SURFACE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME FiledJuly 12, 1923 96.77. fZiw zazd Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STTES PATENT OFF-ICE,

GEORGES L. GUENOT AND GUENOT MAURICE, 015 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DECORATED SURFACE AND METHOD PRODUCING SAME.

Application filed July 12,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that GEORGES L. GUENo'r and GUfiNo'r MAURICE, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of LosAngeles. and State of California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Decorated Surfaces and Methods of Producing Same, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates generally? to the decorative arts and moreparticularly to a method 'or process of decorating the surfaces ofwalls, ceilings, panels, furniture or, in fact, any surface that iscapable of being decorated and which will receive and retain a coat orcoats of paint, varnish or the like.

The principal objects of our invention are, to provide a method ofdecoratin surfaces that requires only a few standar materials orsubstances that may be readily obtained and easily prepared for use, toprovide an easily practiced decorative method that will enable a surfaceto be produced in any desired color or combination of colors, andfurther to provide a method of surfacedecoration that may be practicedwithout the use of tools or apparatus, other than ordinary paint brushesand the now generally used paint atomizers or air brushes.

In the accompanying drawing Figs. 1 and 2 are fragmentary views ofsurfaces that may be produced by our improved method.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of a wall, orpanel that has been decorated in accordance with our improved method.

In experiments relating to the decoration of surfaces with paint,varnish and the like, we have found that certain liquid or semiliquidcoating substances will not flow and spread evenly upon certain otherliquid or semi-liquid coating substances, and which result is due to theradically different chemical natures of the two substances or-materials.

This natural antipathy or lack of affinity of the two substances ormaterials that we have used and which are hereinafter more fullydescribed, and the novel method or .process of application causes thefinishing "coat, or the coat that is last applied to the surface that isbeing decorated, to settle in spots or separated areas on the treatedsur- 1923. Serial No. 651,034.

face and consequently presenting, when dry, a very pleasing and finishedappearance, especially where two or more contrasting colors are used.

To prepare the background for the surface to be decorated, a suitablesizing is used if the surface is of plaster or cement, or, if thesurface is of wood, wood fibre, paper or cardboard, then said surface isprimed in the usual manner.

After this sized or primed surface is dry, it is given two or more coatsof flat paint, the color of which corresponds with the color of thedesired background.

When this background is thoroughly dry, it is given one coat of highgrade copal varnish, with each gallon of which, has been thoroughlymixed, from two to five pounds of background color.

Obviously the amount of coloring material used to each gallon of varnishcontrols the tone or shade of this background varnish coat.

Just as soon as a small area, for instance, a square yard or less, ofthe background varnish has been applied and before it has become set, apaint atomizer or air brush is used to throw onto the freshly varnishedsurface a liquid composed of pure white shellac having incorporated andthoroughly mixed therewith, a suitable coloring substance.

To prepare this finishing coat, ure white shellac is cut,,with alcoholor t e like, to

relatively thick consistency after which a suitable dry colorinsubstance is thoroughly ground into the t ick shellac.

When used in the air brush, this relatively thick or heavy coloredshellac mustbe thinned down to the proper consistency, by the additionof relatively thin shellac.

The color of the-shellac may be the same, but of a lighter ordarkershade than the background or it may be of a contrasting color so as toproduce a pleasing artistic finish.

Further, two or more contrasting colors or different shades of the samecolor may be thrown onto the background to produce the desired effect.

It will be understood that lac, which forms the basis for commercialshellac is an animal product, in that it is a resinous substancesecreted by certain scale insects and that copal, that forms the basisof varnish is a vegetable product, in that it is a resinous substancethat exudes from certain tropical trees.

We have discovered that when these two products, one animal and theother vegetable are brought together as herein set forth,

there is a marked absence of any tendency of the two liquids to mix orcoalesce.

This natural antipathy, or absence of affinit between the varnish andshellac, causes the atter to collect and set in irregular spots or areason. the surface of the varnish, and as these spots or areas aredifferently colored or shaded from the background, a very novel,"artistic and pleasing effect is produced.

A marked difference in the effects produced may be brought about byvarying the degree of-fluidity of the shellac and also by varying thedistance,'that the air brush that sprays the shellac, is held from thesurface under treatment.

Inasmuch as the copal used as the base of the varnish background isgenerally cut and thinned with turpentine. said background dries slowly,whereas, the shellac, which is cut with alcohol, dries very rapidly, forinstance, within twenty or thirty minutes.

In some instances the shellac sets on the varnish background inirregular spots or areas as illustrated in Fig. 1, and again, it willtake the form of irregular lines as illustrated in Fig. 2. i v

Inasmuch as the shellac collects in spots or areas on the surface of thevarnish, said spots or areas are slight] raised with respect to the flatsmooth sur ace of the varnish and this cameo effect adds materially tothe artistic appearance of the finished work.

Thus it will be seen that we have provided a relatively simple,practical and asily practiced method of producing decorated surfaces andwhich method may be employed-- surface that is capable of being on anypainted.

We claim as our invention:

1. The method of decorating surfaces, which consists in applyingto asurface, a coat of varnish, then spraying shellac to said varnish coatbefore the latter is dry and which varnish and shellac are distinctivelycolored.

2. The method of producing decorated surfaces, which consists inapplying a varnish background to a surface and then spraying shellaconto said varnish background, before thelatter is dry.

3. The herein described method of decorat ing surfaces which consists inapplying to a surface, a coat of copal varnish that has been cut withturpentine and then applying to the varnished surface before the same isdr shellac that has been cut with alcohol.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

GEORGES L. GUENOT. ennuo'r MAURICE.

